


It Can't Be Tommy

by MistBorn_SprenDeath



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Traitor TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistBorn_SprenDeath/pseuds/MistBorn_SprenDeath
Summary: Dream has only ever been on his own side.Tommy has a lot more power than he knows.Tubbo lives the next week chanting to himself, "It can't be Tommy"
Comments: 23
Kudos: 238





	1. Chapter 1

Tommy wasn’t supposed to be outside Pogtopia alone when it was this late but the ravine had become…stifling, for the lack of a better word.

He was sure that Tubbo or Nikki would come looking for him at some point, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they were busy planing with the others for the 16th.

It was less than a week away.

With more people present to balance and watch out for Wilbur, Tommy felt comfortable with not watching his older brother’s every move.

But it still felt frustrating

Wilbur was supposed to be older, to know how to get back.

Why couldn’t he rely on Wilbur anymore?

Tommy scoffed at the thought as he twirled with a blade of grass between his fingers.

He knew exactly why he couldn’t rely on his brother.

That didn’t mean that he wished his brother would stop being a complete and utter psychopath. 

Looking up at the night sky, he could see the stars vaguely. 

Tears stung at the corners of his eyes. 

His mom, or Phil would know what to do.

They’d be able to help.

The sudden snapping of twigs and groaning startled him, and he leapt to his feet as he spun, summoning his diamond sword quickly.

There, filling in the spaces between the trees like water, was at least 15 zombies.

Although Tommy was confident in his ability to handle a zombie or two, he could not take care of an entire zombie horde in the cramped quarters of a forest.

Pogtopia was immediately behind the zombie horde, so he’d have to circle around them if he was going to get back to safety quick enough.

Frustratingly, he didn’t have any blocks on him, so he’d have to run on the ground.

Taking off in a run, Tommy wove quickly between aspen and oak trees.

The twang of skeleton bows and hisses made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

He didn’t even have a torch on him to light the way. 

With a shout, Tommy fell into a massive pit which dropped even further down into a cave.

That night was apparently not his night, seeing as he scrambled to his feet and made direct eye contact with three endermen that had spawned in the cave.

Ignoring his bruises and the blood that was coming from his knees, Tommy scrambled back against the wall.

As quickly as he could, Tommy dug out blocks of dirt and quickly placed them to tower out.

The shrieking of an Endermen was the only warning he got before he was knocked off the dirt tower in a spray of purple sparkles.

Tommy dropped straight down, and only managed to avoid dying thanks to a stream of water that tricked from the wall at the bottom of the hole.

Three unsynced shrieks filled the air as all three Endermen teleported to him, though he was lucky enough that the water repelled them.

“Tommy!”

His head snapped up and Tommy could see a bright torch shining brightly in the darkness, the light glinting off of glowing purple armor.

Why was Dream here?

All three of the Endermen were quickly disposed of, two of them dropping an ender pearl.

“Tommy, are you alright?”

Blinking dumbly, Tommy shakily got to his feet, hand working as a support against the wall.

“Wha-?”

Tommy’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat.

“How did you find me, Big D?”

Dream causally waved the question away and moved to support Tommy.

“Doesn’t matter. You need to be careful, _Tomathy_. You can’t just wander around in the dark alone.”

With a scoff, Tommy tried to pull away but felt his knees give.

As Dream had already been supporting him, he didn’t fall, but he felt uneasy.

“Why are you trying to help me? We’re on opposite sides, Dream.”

Dream didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Let’s talk, Tommy.”

Heart sinking, Tommy frowned.

With the pearls that had dropped, Dream let him keep the two from the Endermen and had more than enough in his own inventory, getting out of the pit was much easier than Tommy expected.

(His pearl had missed, but Dream caught him and had hauled him back, away from the edge.)

Dream placed the torch on the ground and placed birch fences around them in a square, only watching silently as Tommy healed up. 

“What do you want, Dream?”

With a sigh, Dream sat down on the ground, leaning against one of the fence posts.

“Tommy, you and I both know that Wilbur is going to blow L’Manberg up no matter what happens tomorrow.”

Tommy bristled.

“Wilbur promised that-!”

“Do you really trust Wilbur’s promises?”

A feeling of cold penetrated Tommy, and it wasn’t the night air blowing through his soaked shirt.

“Wilbur’s insane, and he’s only going to cause more damage the longer we do nothing about it.”

Going to protest, Tommy opened his mouth, but Dream held up a hand.

“Let me speak first, Tommy. Then you can shout at me all you want.”

Dream looked up at the stars, seeming to gather his thoughts for a moment, before he turned to look at Tommy. 

“I want you to join my side.”

The words exploded out of Tommy’s mouth before he could think to be cautious around a guy armed to the teeth in netherite.

“WHAT?! YOU DIRTY-!”

Dream hastily got to his feet.

“Tommy! Tommy! Listen!”

Spinning on his heel and smashing down one of the fences with his diamond axe, Tommy stormed away.

“WHY WOULD I EVER TEAM UP WITH A ******** LIKE YOU?! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT-!”

Dream landed with a heavy metal thud in front of him, the particle affect of the ender pearl filling the air before dissipating slowly.

“LISTEN TO ME, TOMMY!”

The masked man’s shout made Tommy stop short.

(He will never admit to himself or anyone else that he was scared in that moment. Terrified.)

“Join me and I will guarantee that everything works out.”

Ignoring the trembling in his legs, Tommy pushed past angrily.

“Why would I ever betray my friends?! You're working with _Schlatt_! Nothing is worth-”

Dream’s voice cut him off.

“You join our side and no one gets hurt. Everyone will be pardoned and L'Manberg will be restored. I get rid of the tnt, and we burn it out at sea.”

Tommy froze.

“Everyone stays safe. Tubbo will be protected. Wilbur can’t blow everything up. There will be no reason to fight.”

Part of Tommy whispered that there would still be fighting that this wouldn’t end the war - but Tubbo would be safe. The fear of tnt would be gone.

“But Wilbur-“

Dream shook his head sighing, “Wilbur’s insane, Tommy. You know that. He shouldn’t be president.”

It stung because Dream was _right_ and he shouldn’t be right. He was the _bad guy._ The bad guys aren’t _right_.

_Are we the villains, Tommy?_

“Tommy, these wars need to stop. You and Tubbo are _kids,_ Toms, you shouldn’t be fighting a war.”

_You are a smart kid, Tommy, people will notice that._

“Schlatt was the one to throw me and Wilbur out!”

_I_ **_revoke_ ** _the citizenship of Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit!_

Dream’s impassive smiley mask waited silently as he breathed heavily.

“Tommy, who ever said I was on Schlatt’s side?”

All the air in his lungs vanished and Tommy coughed in surprise.

“What?!”

Dream leaned against the tree behind him, not a weapon in sight.

“Who said I was on Schlatt’s side, Tommy?”

_You can’t follow your brother’s around forever, Tommy, you’re going to have to make your own decisions at some point._

“Then who’s side are you on?” Tommy fidgeted nervously, diamond sword flashing in and out of his hand. “You’re obviously not on Pogtopia’s side.”

_Toms, you’re only a weapon if you let yourself be. Trust me._

Pausing for a moment, Dream shook his head a little. “The same side I’ve always been on, Tommy. My own.”

_You and me forever, big man._

“What about Tubbo?”

Dream sighed, pushing himself off the tree. “I told you, Tommy. You join me and Tubbo will be protected, even if it’s from a distance.”

_We have all we need and care for right here_.

“But Tubbo - I can’t just leave him behind.”

Flicking out his hand, a book appeared in Dream’s hand.

“Tommy, we can’t afford to let anyone know that you’ve joined my side until the day of the final battle. Wilbur is already on the ledge, and if you want me to be able to stay true to my promise that the tnt will be disposed of, he can’t know.”

Tommy switched from his sword to a loaf of bread that had been from Nikki.

It tasted stale on his tongue, and he felt a little sick..

Holding the book out to Tommy, Dream shook his head slowly.

“Tommy, I don’t want to set you against Tubbo, that’s never been my goal. But I promise, the moment that it’s safe to tell him, we’ll tell him.”

Hesitantly, Tommy took the book and flipped it open.

> _Contract of Alliance_
> 
> _Written by Dreamwastaken_
> 
> _Agreement made on the 13th of November, between Dreamnotfound and TommyInnit, to be put in effect on the 16th of November._
> 
> _Under the following unbendable conditions is an alliance struck between the Dream SMP and TommyInnit:_
> 
> _Dream, leader of the Dream SMP, will maintain to do the following:_
> 
>   * _Guaranteeing the safe passage of TommyInnit through all of the Dream SMP and guaranteed protection from waring factions as he is allied with the Dream SMP_
>   * _Guaranteeing the protection of Tubbo_at all times whether through compensation of armor and weapons or through a standing guard_
>   * _Disposing of_ ** _all_** _TNT and prohibiting any further production of TNT_
>     * _Any persons found in possession of TNT will have their supplies removed and will be placed on probation for a following week_
>     * _Any farms found mass producing gunpowder must be rewired for collecting alternative mob drops or dismantled completely_
> 

> 
> _TommyInnit, son of Philza Minecraft, will maintain to do the following:_
> 
>   * _Suspend all loyalties and citizenships of any nations outside of the Dream SMP_
>   * _Build a permanent residence on the Dream SMP_
>   * _Submit to duties pertaining to the building and maintaining of roads, paths and railways across the Dream SMP_
>     * _Building additional roads where necessary_
>     * _Maintaining and Repairing roads where necessary_
>     * _Removing and Relocating roads where necessary_
> 


Below the terms and conditions was Dream’s signature in the most ugly cursive Tommy had ever seen.

Instead of commenting on Dream’s poor penmanship, Tommy pointed at the conditions under his own name.

“Why do I have to build a bunch of roads and railways?”

“There’s always a catch or a condition, Tommy.” Dream shrugged, before stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Besides, don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy building the prime path or your railroads.”

Tommy frowned and then pointed at the second condition under his name.

“You want me to build a house on the Dream SMP?”

Shoulders tensing, Dream paused for a moment before his posture returned to relaxed.

“I don’t want you to be on the boarders were it’s easy for people to attack you, Tommy. When you join the Dream SMP that means that I’m in charge of your safety and the safety of your lands and property.”

Hesitating for a moment Tommy flicked between all the items in his hot bar before settling on his empty slot.

“How am I supposed to sign this thing? I haven’t committed the mass murder of any squids recently.”


	2. Chapter 2

Finding Tommy wasn’t hard, just follow the shouting, but Tubbo was put on edge. Contrary to popular belief, TommyInnit wasn’t always loud. It was really only once he was with other people that his friend put on the volume. Which meant that someone was out here with Tommy, while all their allies were sitting in Pogtopia.

He caught the sound of Tommy’s voice. “I can’t just leave him behind.”

What?

Weaving between tree’s as silently as he could, Tubbo was finally close enough to identify who Tommy was speaking with. 

“Tommy, we can’t afford to let anyone know that you’ve joined my side until the day of the final battle.”

Tubbo felt his heart drop into his stomach. Finally catching sight of Dream in full netherite standing in front of his unarmored best friend, holding out a book, Tubbo felt slightly ill.

“Wilbur is already on the ledge, and if you want me to be able to stay true to my promise that the tnt will be disposed of, he can’t know.”

Tommy couldn’t be the traitor.

He couldn’t.

~~_ Tubbo knew what it would take for Tommy to turn traitor. _ ~~

There was a tension in Tommy’s posture, however. It screamed hesitation.

Tommy never hesitated.

Something wasn’t adding up. 

~~_ Tommy couldn’t possibly turn traitor for him. _ ~~

“Tommy, I don’t want to set you against Tubbo, that’s never been my goal. But I promise, the moment that it’s safe to tell him, we’ll tell him.”

Tubbo wanted to be sick.

Dream was trying to convince Tommy to join his side.

That’s what was happening.

But it had been Tubbo and Tommy against Dream from the very beginning.

Tommy had to know that.

Surely.

~~_ He knew Wilbur’s whispers of becoming the villains.  _ ~~

~~_ He had hoped Tommy had ignored them completely.  _ ~~

~~_ Now he wasn’t so sure. _ ~~

Taking the book from Dream, Tommy’s eyes flickered from the man to the book, entire body tense. 

So he was wary.

Slowly, he opened the book and his eyes scanned the pages.

What could Dream be offering that would convince Tommy to become a traitor.

Tommy was the most loyal person Tubbo knew.

~~_ Why was that a lie as much as it was true? _ ~~

Dream had mentioned something about tnt.

Tommy had mentioned not wanting to hide the truth from someone. Using what Dream had said, he was probably talking about him, Tubbo.

Just what exactly was Dream playing at?

Tommy’s eyes broke away from the page, and Tubbo could see the hesitation before he frowned. “Why do I have to build a bunch of roads and railways?”

That was practically a yes, coming from Tommy.

What exactly had Dream promised him?

~~_ Tubbo knew exactly what Dream would have to promise Tommy. _ ~~

Dream shrugged, his netherite armor clicking lightly against itself. “There’s always a catch or a condition, Tommy. Besides, don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy building the prime path or your railroads.”

Busy work.

Tommy was best distracted with busy work, and if it so happened to be something that he already enjoyed then it was only that much more effective.

How long had Dream spent learning Tommy’s quirks?

And why?

Pointing to the page, Tommy frowned. He was suspicious of something. “You want me to build a house on the Dream SMP?”

Tubbo felt his blood run cold. 

A way to keep tabs on Tommy and to keep an eye on him at all times.

Means of control.

Dream seemed to sense the suspicion laced in Tommy’s voice as he tensed. Hands clenching, shoulders lifting, stance tightening. After a moment of tense silence, his shoulders dropped slightly, but his hands and stance remained the same. 

“I don’t want you to be on the borders where it’s easy for people to attack you, Tommy. When you join the Dream SMP that means that I’m in charge of your safety and the safety of your lands and property.”

The masked man was stupidly smart.

Replace his excuse for control with an excuse for protection.

Given Tommy’s recent interaction with authority figures, he wouldn’t know the difference.

“How am I supposed to sign this thing? I haven’t committed the mass murder of any squids recently.”

Tubbo couldn’t believe what he had heard.

~~_ Surely not. _ ~~

Tommy couldn’t be the traitor.

He wouldn’t.

No one cared more about L’Manberg than Tommy did.

~~_ Wilbur might have been a high competitor if he hadn’t lost himself to his fear _ ~~

No one.

Dream couldn’t possibly have offered anything worth Tommy’s loyalty.

One couldn’t just  _ buy _ TommyInnit’s loyalty.

~~_ But he understood why some believed  _ ~~

Tubbo realized with a start that Tommy was returning to Pogtopia.

His friend came nowhere close to where Tubbo hid behind the trees, he was probably lost again, but he still held his breath tensely. 

Dream stood silently in the field, watching Tommy leave. Once he was out of sight the fully armored man placed an ender chest and stowed the signed book away. Then he turned and left.

For some reason Tommy was important to Dream.

~~_ Someone was finally seeing that Tommy had something more to offer _ ~~

Important enough that Dream wanted him in a position that the maked man had complete control over. 

Tubbo was learning quickly that no one does anything without strings attached. 

Whatever Dream needed that holding Tommy close would bring had to be on the bigger picture.

Stumbling back through the forest, Tubbo frowned.

What was the bigger picture?

_ It’s you and me against the world, Big Man! _

Tommy had been fighting against Dream from the very start.

Was it an attempt to keep peace with Tommy?

For some reason Tubbo didn’t quite believe it was to keep Tommy from starting new wars. Though, that was an added benefit of having the impulsive blonde under your watch.

What would having Tommy on his side mean for Dream?

===

Stumbling into the cave that led down to Pogtopia, Tubbo bit back a sigh. 

He had to have imagined that.

There was no way.

~~_ It can’t be Tommy. _ ~~

He was only halfway down the stairs when Quackity called his name. “Tubbo! We were worried you had gotten lost and that we would need to send search parties out for you.” He laughed. “Tommy’s been back for an hour or so. Went straight to bed after his walk.”

“Oh.” Came Tubbo’s weak reply. 

What else was he supposed to say?

~~_ It can’t be Tommy. _ ~~

Quackity waved him over. “Come on down, we were just having a meeting.”

“We?”

Shuffling through the contents of one of the chests, Quackity hummed. “It’s just me, Wilbur and Fundy.” He smiled as he pulled out a stack of baked potatoes.

“What’s the meeting about?”

Quackity paused and turned to face him. “You do realize that we’re supposed to go to war in a couple of days?”

Tubbo backpedaled. “No, you’re right, sorry.”

“You alright, man? You seem distracted.”

“No, yeah, I’m good. Just...Just knocked my head while I was out looking for Tommy.” Tubbo laughed nervously.

“Is your head okay?”

“It’s fine. Nothing too bad. Where are they?”

Quackity led him down to the second ravine and they walked to the area that AntFrost had mined for them. 

Fundy was speaking to his father, arms crossed. “We  _ need _ to know who the traitor is, Wilbur.” 

Tubbo felt a little cold.

~~_ It can’t be Tommy _ ~~

“We can’t spend so much time focusing on who we can’t trust, Fundy.” Wilbur huffed. 

“Yeah,” Quackity spoke, drawing the other two’s attention. “Dream probably just said that to throw us off our game.”

Tubbo scrambled after him, heart in his throat. 

“But if there  _ is _ a traitor, we need to know. To  _ prepare _ . We can’t let Schlatt win.”

~~_ Wasn’t Dream the real danger? _ ~~

Wilbur sighed, and Tubbo could see the sleepless nights weighing on the old president. But he could also see the flecks of gunpowder splattered to the bottom of his trench coat. 

~~_ How can one be both sympathetic and insane? _ ~~

“We can’t focus on what we can’t control, Funds.” Wilbur took out a loaf of bread and ate it slowly, clearly trying to think through his response. “Dream could be lying, or he might not be.”

~~_ Where’s the man filled with paranoia? _ ~~

Why was Wilbur suddenly so unconcerned with being betrayed?

Quackity shared a look with Fundy, before he asked quietly, “But who could actually be the traitor within us?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Wilbur leaned back against the stone wall. “I feel like it’s Technoblade.” 

~~_ Where’s the tension of being betrayed? _ ~~

“That’s what I feel like.” He repeated.

~~_ Who are you trying to convince? _ ~~

Fundy began slowly, “It could be, I mean that would technically be the worst outcome of there actually being a traitor.” 

~~_ Is that really the worst outcome? He’s an expectation. _ ~~

Continuing, Fundy mused. “He’s the only one we have that could go up against Dream. If he’s with Dream then...” The fox hybrid trailed off.

“Guys, have you ever- consider for a second. Tommy?” Quackity asked, and Tubbo felt cold.

No one spoke for a moment.

“I don’t think it would be Tommy.” Wilbur finally said, not looking any of them in the eye.

As if that’s all it would take to dismiss any and all suspicions, Quackity shrugged. “Alright.”

But Wilbur continued, as if he felt the need to explain. “I don’t think it would be Tommy... because....” 

~~_ It can’t be Tommy _ ~~

“What gives you the reason to believe it's not him?” Quackity’s suspicions were now once again returned to Tommy, and Tubbo felt slightly ill.

Going on, as if he hadn’t heard Quackity, Wilbur spoke softly with that edge of insanity that Tubbo had only grown all too familiar with. “What if...What if Schlatt gave Dream presidency? ‘Cause he said it was something he signed - was specifically.”

~~_ It can’t be Tommy _ ~~

“Would that explain why he didn’t sign my book?” Quackity was talking about his attempt to have Schlatt sign away the presidency wasn’t he.

“In which case,” Wilbur continued, still going on as if Quackity hadn’t spoken, “Dream could make a deal with Tommy to give him the presidency. Which is what Tommy would want.”

Tubbo’s chest burned for his friend

~~_ That isn’t what Tommy wants _ ~~

Wilbur was like Tommy’s  _ brother _ . 

~~_ It can’t be Tommy _ ~~

How could he say something like that?

Tubbo realized with a start they were all staring at him.

Unclenching his fists, he realized he was bleeding slightly. “It can’t be Tommy. He would never betray L’Manberg like that. Tommy’s never  _ wanted _ to be president.”

Fundy frowned, looking down. “Whoever it is, we’ll just have to prepare the best we can.”

“What if our best isn’t enough?” Quackity challenged.

Why couldn’t he just  _ let it go _ ?

Feeling his frustration bubble over, Tubbo threw his arms out. “If our best isn’t enough, we  _ loose _ , Quackity. There is no in between.” He crossed his arms. “Whether there’s a traitor or not, if we start fighting amongst ourselves, then we deserve to fall. Practically every single person on the server is on our side.”

Quackity reached out a hand, but Tubbo shrugged it off, taking several steps back. 

“I don’t know  _ why _ everyone is suddenly so focused on turning against each other.” Tubbo huffed. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

Reaching the main ravine, Tubbo finally saw Tommy standing there. Had he been listening?

~~_ It can’t be Tommy _ ~~

“Hey, Big T,” Tubbo greated tiredly. “I thought you went straight to bed.”

Tommy shifted on his heels, “I, um, did. But I heard you shouting. Wanted to make sure you were okay.”

~~_ Why is Tommy lying to me? _ ~~

With a harsh exhale, Tubbo dropped his head onto Tommy’s chest. “The adults are just being idiots.”

Tommy laughed, and his arms wrapped around Tubbo. “Of course they are, Big Man.”

~~_ I wish it wasn’t Tommy _ ~~

Dream was trying to manipulate the playing field.

Tubbo would just have to play smarter.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea is obviously old - but this is me finally finishing it! :) The angst is pretty obviously implied, and I'm perfectly content with this remaining a one-shot - though if anyone does want a continuation you'd just have to ask. I already have general thoughts about what would happen next. 
> 
> And I'd love to see what you guys think would happen next! :)
> 
> \--
> 
> Neither Tommy nor Dream noticed the flash of a green shirt in the trees, or the faint sent of honey.
> 
> __


End file.
